Chinese names of fish?

[taikiat]

i was thinking that since many LFSs in the heartlands usually use chinese as their medium of communication, and the labels for fish, perhaps, some guys can come together to get a translation list for all the freshwater fish available? For a start, what's Dwarf Rasboras' (Boraras maculatus) chinese name?

[hwchoy]

you are talking about chinese trade and common names. just like their english counter part, they are not standard and is not meaningful for the purpose of identifying species.

The only way to uniquely refer to species is by their scientific names, which is in latin. there is a chinese form to these scientific names, but I am not sure whether there is a scientific organisation that governs the chinese names. You can get the chinese scientific names from text such as Fauna Sinica.

[taikiat]

you see, this is what happens... I walk into a shop and ask if there are Dwarf Rasboras or Boraras maculatus, and the boss just goes "huh, Ra what?"

Yes i am talking about chinese trade names, so that it can make purchases from certain LFSs easier, and what is Fauna Sinica?

[hwchoy]

just giving a chinese trade name, as in english trade name, doesn't guarantee you the right fish. that's the point. these names are fairly arbitrary.

[budak]

http://monkey.ioz.ac.cn/fauna/english/introduction.htm
http://monkey.ioz.ac.cn/fauna/english/index.htm

[cairocks]

Humm.....always wondering how the chinese LFS manage to place orders to their suppliers and get the correct fish.

[hwchoy]

actually to be honest, sometimes they DO get the wrong fish haha. just ask Azmi.

[Justikanz]

Pictures and numbers go a long way...

All common names will vary according to different dealers, farms, collectors etc... Sometimes, even LFSs will have their own unique common name... Just to be unique...

But I think it might be useful if those who can type Chinese characters share the Chinese common names... Think it might be interesting to know...

Choy, so you are saying there is an Internationally recognised Chinese scientific name for animals and plants?

[MIZU]

maybe next time you would like to bring along the picture of what ever fish you want to buy..

as for Boraras maculatus.they call it "kim si" in hokkien..

it is better if you know the hokkien name for the fish than a chinese name..

[joelwong]

Some are quite easy to comperehend

Silver Dollar = 2Yin 3Dun
Neon Tetra = 1Deng 2Yu
Black Neon Tetra = 1Hei 1Deng
Glowlight Tetra = 1Guang 3Guan
Cardinal Tetra = Cardinal (Even old uncle will understand)
Silver Shark = 2Yin 1Sha
Cichlid = 1Fei 2Zhou 2Yu

[hwchoy]

Choy, so you are saying there is an Internationally recognised Chinese scientific name for animals and plants?

yes I think so. and they don't any how create these names, it is mostly a translation of the scientific name.

for example the loach genus Botia translates to 沙鳅 while Parabotia becomes 副 沙鳅

and hence the loach Parabotia fasciata becomes 花斑副沙鳅

they have equivalents for the entire nomenclatures strucutre, i.e. family, class, etc.

[valice]

Cichlid = Fei Zhou Yu only make sense for African cichlids... South American will not be fei zhou already...

[hwchoy]

I thought 非洲鱼 refers to the Tilapia. I think cichlid in general is call 鲷.

[valice]

We will know it as diao... But the LFS uncles will know it more as fei zhou yu...

[hwchoy]

see the problem? heehee.

[joelwong]

Cichlid = Fei Zhou Yu only make sense for African cichlids... South American will not be fei zhou already...

To them, it's still fei zhou yu

[XnSdVd]

Haha i see i'm not the only one who has this problem... But yes, thomas is right. You either carry a little picture book around, or go to a shop that knows the scientific names of the fish they sell.

Then again, you could always just spend time wandering around the shop looking for your fish. I always smile when they ask "Can i help you?" i wish they could...

[Justikanz]

yes I think so. and they don't any how create these names, it is mostly a translation of the scientific name.

for example the loach genus Botia translates to 沙鳅 while Parabotia becomes 副 沙鳅

and hence the loach Parabotia fasciata becomes 花斑副沙鳅

they have equivalents for the entire nomenclatures strucutre, i.e. family, class, etc.

Now this is very interesting... Where can I learn this?

Oh, by the way, 非洲鱼 should be refering to the Rift Lake cichlids... But as 鲷 is not so popularly used, the term 非洲鱼 became a common name for cichlids...

Now, where to obtain free software for typing Chinese? PM me...

[hwchoy]

Now, where to obtain free software for typing Chinese? PM me...

microsoft IME.

[benny]

In addition to the above, very often chinese names in one market is different in other markets. Take Corydoras aeneus for example, the Taiwanese and the Hong Kong aquarists calls them by different chinese names. So there is no official standard. Can be confusing to many. Zebra pleco is another good example (some call it zebra in Chinese whilst others call them panda).

Cheers,